Sunday. November 4, 199C - North Shore News - 43

AFFLUENCE & INFLUENCE

IN HER OWN WORDS

Jaffer on law, immigration, the Agha Khan and racism

MOBINA JAFFER: ‘I never expected special treatment, just equal treatment.”’

NEWS photo Stuart Davis

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What kind of reception did you receive from your peers when you became 2 practising lawyer? “When your're first starting Gut — going out to fight the world — and you get a put down, it’s very hard. Lawyers are very egotistical, and they would try to be in- timidating. But when you've come so far nobody can do anything to intimidate you...1 don’t think people meant anything by it, i just that they are not used to something different.

Judges were sometimes very hard on me, but I was lucky: had a senior partner who would sit in court to let them know there was no reason for it, because they wouldn't be Sike that with another young person who was starting up. I never expected speciai treatment, just equal treatment.”’

How have you personally dealt with racism? ‘*The best way | can describe racism is, especially on the North Shore, like being on a spinning wheel. My children gct hurt, my husband gets hurt, and | can never deal with my hurt because I’m busy comforting them...it’s sad because the North Shore should be a leader. But what do you do? Go and form your own groups and not deal with the outside community because it’s easier? I refuse to succumb to that."

What do you think of recent changes to the federal Canadian immigration policy? ‘I’m very pleased because what it has at long last done is given dignity to immigration. It's making the country realize we need immigra-

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sion because of Our aging popula- tion, and for economic reasons. Immigration is going to happen whether we like itor not; and there’s two ways we can deal with it: we can have these people come and say, ‘we want your work but we don't like you, and you stay in your community,” or we can wel- come them and treat them with respect. | think when people have their self-esteem they work bet-

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What role has your faith played in your career? “*The Agha Khan has always pushed women. I've always grown up with this idea: that if you have two children, a gir) and a boy, and you can only educate one of them, educate the girl because she is the future of your country and the backbone of the family."

What reaction have you and your group received from immigrant women? ‘There's been no backlash at all. Sometimes it feels

Jaffer fights for

From page 42 The biggest thing we're trying to portray is that we are here to stay, that this is our home.”’

Jaffer acknowledges that being of a different color means she will probably never be compietely ac-

as if a lightbulb goes on, especial- ty for women in isolated coni- munities. They feel they have found their voice and that naw they have to go out and break down that barrier. You know Pat Carney talks about the glass ceil- ing, well 1 talk about the glass door, (Caucusian) women are at feast now able to enter the room and reach a certain level, but we have not even been able to open the door. Now we have found the key and we've got to go out and join other women.”

What are some of your memora- ble cases? “*Just Jast week | hada case of a Sri Lankan whose brother got killed because he was mistaken for him, and his mother died immediately after from heartbreak. } just look at him and say to myself, ‘it's better to die, because how can you live with that?’ Everywhere you move your psyche tells you my brother should be alive, not me."’

minority rights

cepted by the Law Society. But she says she'll keep fighting in the hopes that attitudes wilt change.

“tf | work hard at it,’’ says Jaffer, ‘‘my son will be accepted. I'm going to keep trying, because power comes from within.”’

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